Fun Facts About Woodpeckers

Downy Woodpeckers have been recorded to eat at least 44 different kinds of insects, including beetles, ants, weevils, aphids and the eggs of grasshopper, katydids and crickets.

During the winter, Downy Woodpeckers have to peck deeper into trees to find insects and favor trees with rough bark since they hold more over-wintering insects than smooth-barked trees.

Downy Woodpeckers typically excavate new roosting cavities during the autumn months over a period of three to seven days.

The average life-span of a Downy Woodpecker is two to five years, although some may live up to twelve years old.

In order to increase their security and feeding efficiency, Downy Woodpeckers will often flock and forage together with chickadees, titmice, nuthatches and Hairy Woodpeckers. They rely on the other birds for early warning of predators by recognizing their alarm calls.

When threatened by predators, Downy Woodpeckers will freeze motionless against the trunk of a tree and will not return to normal activities for up to ten minutes.

Studies have shown that Downy Woodpeckers with access to bird feeders are in better nutritional condition than their peers. This probably results in higher rates of winter survival, especially in the submissive females.

The Pileated Woodpecker is the second largest North American woodpecker at 19" in length; hopefully the Ivory-billed is still the largest at over 20."

Sapsuckers can drill as many as fifty holes per hour into trees. These holes fill up with sap, when the sapsucker returns it soaks up the sap with its brushy-tipped tongue. They also feed on the many insects that are attracted to the sweet sap.

Northern Flickers spend about 75% of their time foraging on the ground in search of ants.

Northern Flickers will often roost at night on the side of a tree or structure instead of inside a nesting cavity.

Red-bellied Woodpeckers will eat fruits, insects, an occasional frog or lizard and they have even been observed eating the eggs of chickens.

If you want to provide good habitat for woodpeckers, consider leaving the dead tree snags in and around your yard. One study has shown that a Downy Woodpecker needs at least four to five snags per acre to meet its needs for nesting and foraging.